tbell wrote:
On Tue, 13 May 2008 21:27:31 -0700, Uncle_vito wrote
(in article ) :


I am considering building a greenhouse for my orchids. It is the humidity
that I want/need. Living in Southern California, low temperatures are not
much of a problem.

Also, seems like most orchid growers in the area (Normans, SBOE) use shade
cloth or opal translucent polycarbonate panels overhead.

I am looking for a greenhouse kit with these opal translucent polycarbonate
panels for the roof. All that I can find seem to use clear panels.

What are you folks using? Clear glass/polycarbonate with shadecloth or opal
panels?


Up here we have both extreme heat (2-3 weeks or so 100š in Summer) and some
cold (2-3 weeks or so of frost with 20s and 30s in Winter).
I built a Charley's Greenhouse Solar Gro kit with polycarbonate twin wall, a
gravel floor, an under bench misting system, and an exhaust fan. I also use a
metallic shade screen during the Summer.
This has kept my orchids alive without a cooler except when a power failure
and surge triggered the GFCI while I was away for a weekend.

Tom
Walnut Creek, CA
Nikon D200

The biggest problem I have with the kits is the glazing I have seen on
them is awfully thin. A friend nearby spends quite a lot trying to heat
her Charley's aluminum-framed one here in Ohio; the glazing while
doublewall isn't a very good insulator because it's so flimsy and the
aluminum doesn't help much either, being a good conductor of heat out
of the GH, as is the concrete slab its on. I went with building my own
wood frame over an insulated (on the outside) foundation with triple
wall glazing that is about twice as thick as her glazing. I also
atttached it to the house. As a result, the 24x14 structure is pretty
cheap to heat and though the glazing only admits about 85% of the
ambient light I still need 50% shadecloth in the spring/summer/fall to
keep most plants from burning and of course it helps the evap cooler do
its job, too.